Joseph Ernest McAlister
Joseph Ernest McAlister, better known as Joe is a main character in CBS' Under the Dome. He is a smart teenage boy living in Chester's Mill. His parents were on the other side of the dome when it came down, secluding him and his older sister from his parents. Before The Dome Joe is the son of Jack McAlister, he had an older sister Angie, they live in Chester's Mill, where he attend high-school. He's president of the high school's robotics club. Under The Dome Season 1 "Pilot" Joe is first seen when he hears the Dome crash down. He comes out of his house to see if Barbie is alright and to see the damage that the dome did. Joe begins to inspect the dome and realizes that it only zaps you the first time you touch it. Suddenly, birds begin to fall out of the sky as they crashed into the dome and broke their necks. A plane begins to approach quickly and crashes into the dome, Joe is shocked by the event and due to that stands still, not avoiding the falling debris that is coming right at him. Barbie quickly tackles him to save his life. Joe and Barbie search the scene for a few minutes, but are stopped when a firetruck from the outside begins to approach vastly and almost crashes into the dome. Barbie tells the driver of the fire truck, using notes, to call the FAA. Joe wonders if the military built it, but Barbie shuts down that idea by saying that it actually works and if the military actually built it, it wouldn't work. Linda & Duke arrive and talk with the two regarding what happened. "The Fire" Ben Drake and Joe talk about Joe's first seizure and how he spoke about "pink stars". Joe decides that he should attempt to map out the dome. At the edge of the Dome, Ben and Joe talk to Barbie about the map that Joe is making. Joe tells Barbie that the Dome is ten miles across, covers most of the mill, and some of Lake East Point. Ben asks Joe about Barbie, and he informs Ben that he is not from the town. "Manhunt" At a bonfire, Joe McAlister watches on his phone the video he took of Paul Randolph inadvertently killing Freddy Denton. Ben Drake and two girls talk with him about the incident, wondering what will happen to Paul. Norrie Calvert-Hill approaches Joe, asking if she can recharge her phone at his house, also requesting if she can stay over. When he asks about the "two ladies" he saw her with, she denies knowing them. In the McAlister house, Norrie lies about her parents to Joe, claiming she has a father who is a musician. Ben arrives with some girls looking to use the generator, and admits that he has invited other people over. A house party has developed at the McAlister house, and Ben suggests that Joe not mention his seizure to Norrie. Among the teenagers is an ex-boyfriend of Angie's, Carter Thibodeau.Carter begins to start charging people to use Joe's generator to charge their phones. As Joe is about to tell him to stop, Norrie steps forward and tells him he should leave. He grabs her arm, and Joe quickly tells him to leave. The generator overloads, and the crowd soon clears out. Joe is tries to repair the generator with Norrie, when Carolyn arrives. Norrie thanks Joe for standing up for her, but when she touches his hand, they both fall to the ground convulsing, repeating "Pink stars are falling, pink stars are falling in lines." "Outbreak" At the hospital, Alice Calvert and Carolyn Hill bring Norrie Calver-Hill and Joe McAlister to be tested after their seizures. Alice requests several specific tests to be performed, but a nurse explains to her that the equipment is limited, and the hospital is understaffed.Seeing Junior, Joe asks if he has seen Angie. Junior replies that he has seen her recently, and Joe catches up with the Calvert-Hills. Alice draws some blood samples from Norrie and Joe, and performs the EEG. She notices no abnormalities in the EEG, but before she can do any further tests she is asked by Big Jim and the nurse to treat the patients.Norrie and Joe decide to try and trigger another seizure, after determining the last one happened when they made physical contact. Joe suggests they film the experiment. After setting up the video, they touch, and have another seizure almost instantly.Norrie and Joe watch the video, and discover that they spoke during the seizures, "Pink stars are falling, pink stars are falling in lines." In the video, Joe sits up and hushes the camera, which he claims he does not remember doing. They decide not to tell anyone about their discovery, because the Dome "doesn't want them to." The Calvert-Hills are preparing to leave back to the inn when Joe invites them to stay at his house, which they agree. "Blue on Blue" Joe and Norrie search for Angie, as most of the town prepares for the missile impact. As the missile approaches, Norrie and Joe share a kiss. The missile impacts the dome, laying waste to everything outside of it but leaving the town unscathed. Norrie and Joe find that they no longer have seizures when they touch. "The Endless Thirst" Joe and Norrie help the driver that crashes in the water tower. Later Joe helps Norrie to track down the other diabetics in town by going through the hospital's files and steal their insulin to help her mom. Joe and Norrie reach the house of a diabetic listed in the hospital's files, Ray Garcia. Norrie smashes in a window and then hears a shotgun cock. Ray holds it on them and says he took his last dose yesterday. Norrie and Joe reach another diabetic's house. It's unlocked. Norrie takes the insulin but a young boy finds them. It's his insulin. Joe puts most of the insulin back, but takes one vial and then they both leave. Norrie, Joe, Julia and Dodee reach the dome. When Norrie and Joe touch the dome together, Dodee's radio starts working again—the signal is unjammed. "Imperfect Circles" Joe McAlister is woken up by Norrie Calvert-Hill, who asks him to accompany her to the Dome. Norrie wants to investigate their connection to the Dome that was determined by Julia Shumway and Dorothy "Dodee" Weaver. Joe is skeptical, but relents as Norrie suggests that perhaps they are the key to removing it. Norrie and Joe kiss while touching the Dome, trying to trigger another reaction, but nothing happens. Joe suggests that they investigate the very center of the Dome instead. As Joe and Norrie head to the center of the Dome, Norrie wonders why the Dome "picked" them. Joe is uncertain, but is glad that it did, because otherwise he wouldn't have met Norrie. Joe and Norrie arrive at the center of the Dome, and see a spherical pile of leaves. Clearing them away, they see a mound of dirt covering a second, smaller Dome. Norrie pours her water bottle over it, allowing them to see a black egg - like object inside. Norrie and Joe attempt to communicate with the mini-Dome. Joe suggests they both touch it, like they did with the Dome. As they do, they see an apparition of Alice, which disappears when Norrie removes her hands. She realizes she needs to find her mom, and heads back to the McAlister house. Later Angie returns home, hugging Joe. "Thicker Than Water" At the McAlister house, Joe McAlister asks Angie where she has been over the last week, but Angie just deflects the question. She suggests they get something to eat at Sweetbriar Rose. As they prepare to leave, Joe invites Norrie Calvert-Hill, who harshly rejects his invitation. At Sweetbriar Rose as Joe sketches the egg-like object he saw at the Dome's center, Julia approaches and asks what he is doing. He shrugs her question off, crumpling the paper up and throwing it away. Joe stands over Alice's empty grave. He is approached by Julia, and Joe laments that Norrie blames him for her death. When he mentions the "egg ", Julia becomes curious, demanding he take her to see it. Joe brings Julia to the center of the Dome, where they see the egg glowing. Julia places her hands on the mini-dome, and she sees an apparition of Joe, that repeats, "The monarch will be crowned." Julia starts to head back to her car, unsure what she just saw. Joe is curious that she saw "another" Joe, particularly curious that it spoke. He explains that when he and Norrie saw Alice, she didn't say anything. Joe wonders if something will happen to him as it did to Alice. Joe and Julia return to his house, where he is hugged by Norrie. She apologizes for blaming him, and tells him she is ready to bury Alice. "The Fourth Hand" Joe, Norrie, and Angie later find the dome in the barn, with Angie saying that he saw Joe sleepwalking, and they assume that he brought it to the barn. The three of them then touch the dome at the same time. Once doing so, the egg in the middle of the dome lights up, revealing a fourth handprint, indicating that the dome needs a fourth hand. Angie than says that they need to find the fourth hand. "Let the Games Begin" Norrie Calvert-Hill, Joe McAlister, and Angie McAlister, having spent the night in the barn, wake up to discover a caterpillar inside the mini-dome . Joe identifies it as a caterpillar that will grow into a monarch butterfly. Norrie and Joe suggest they ask Julia, who had previously been communicated with by the mini-dome that "the monarch will be crowned". Angie is reluctant, pointing out that Julia hasn't had any seizures. The three set out to discover who else has had seizures to determine who the fourth hand print belongs to, hoping to turn off the Dome. Later at barn hear noise Joe, Norrie, and Angie rush in, discovering Dodee, and see that her hand is burnt. They bring Dodee to the clinic, where she regains consciousness. Dodee asks what happened, saying she remembers electricity. Joe and Norrie tell her they found her next to her generator. Nurse Adams arrives to take Dodee to be examined, and Angie asks if she is aware of anyone else in town who has had seizures. Adams says she isn't aware of any since Angie's tenth grade dance. Angie, shocked, runs out of the clinic while Joe and Norrie follow her. Angie tells Joe and Norrie that she believes Junior to be the fourth hand. She reveals that Junior passed out at her tenth grade dance, but though everyone thought he had been drinking, Nurse Adams just explained that it was really a seizure. When Joe expresses his dislike of Junior, Angie angrily reveals that Junior had kidnapped her after the Dome arrived. Joe is furious, but Norrie talks him down before asking if Angie is sure that Junior is the fourth. Angie says she's sure, and says she wants to show them something. Angie leads Joe and Norrie to Pauline Rennie's studio, and shows them the painting of Junior next to the pink stars. Junior arrives and Joe attacks him, but Junior easily overpowers him. Angie demands he release Joe and come with them to the barn, claiming that the four of them are connected to something bigger. Angie, Joe, and Norrie bring Junior to the barn, where they notice the caterpillar has entered its chrysalis. They touch the mini-dome with Junior. The egg begins to glow, and the power in the barn goes out. The egg projects the pink stars around them, forming constellations. While Angie admires their beauty. Junior asks what it means. "Speak of the Devil" Angie McAlister, Joe McAlister, Norrie Calvert-Hill, and Junior Rennie lie down in the barn, looking up at the constellations they traced from the egg's projection. Norrie again speculates that the Dome was trying to communicate with them, such as causing rain to pacify the riots and causing their seizures. Joe points out four stars that aren't part of any constellation, which he believes represents the four of them. Junior notices that the chrysalis is closer to hatching, having become clear, with the monarch butterfly's wings visible through it. Norrie panics, wanting to tell someone. Joe suggests Julia Shumway, who, unlike Dorothy "Dodee" Weaver, was able to safely touch the mini-dome. Believing the Dome "trusts" Julia, Joe sets off to find her. Barbie sees Joe pass the door, and calls for help. They put Julia in her car, where Barbie stays beside her to slow the bleeding while Joe drives her to the hospital. As Joe drives to the hospital, the storm worsens, pulling town tree branches in front of the vehicle. Joe expresses his belief that the Dome is angry. They arrive at the hospital, and Barbie orders Joe to charge the car as he brings Julia inside. Nurse Adams is quickly called away by another resident whose husband was injured by the storm. Barbie tells Joe to find plastic tubing, but Joe realizes the hospital has been looted. Barbie manages to improvise with some nearby supplies. When Joe asks how Barbie knows what he's doing, Barbie answers that he had to do the same thing to his sergeant. Joe asks what happened to him, but Barbie doesn't answer. Julia's heart starts. Joe says he has to go to tell everyone what Barbie did. He believes that Barbie is the Monarch that will save them. Angie, Joe, Norrie, and Junior arrive at the location, and Angie warns them not to let go, whatever happens. They touch the Dome, and they see an apparition of Big Jim on the other side. Bleeding wounds appear on his chest and stomach, and Angie, Joe, and Norrie realize that the four of them are all carrying knives with blood on the tips. Junior realizes it too, and panics, letting go of the Dome. The vision and the knives disappear, and Junior runs off to find his dad. "Exigent Circumstances" In the barn, Joe McAlister, Angie McAlister, and Norrie Calvert-Hill observe the egg. Angie suggests that it is reacting because they haven't killed Big Jim, but Joe insists they can't. When Norrie points out that they don't know who the Monarch is, Joe asserts that it is Barbie. He speculates that when the butterfly emerges, something will change. Joe and Norrie arrive at Ben's place, telling him they have something they need to hide from the sweeps. He tells them that his house was already checked, and invites them in. Ben looks at the mini-dome, and nearly touches it before he is stopped by Joe. Norrie warns him that it is dangerous, and after covering the mini-dome in a blanket, the pair leave, asking him to just keep it hidden. Joe and Norrie return, and are quickly held by Jim's men. Finding the barn empty, Big Jim demands to know where the egg is. He orders Joe and Norrie to be taken to the station. Big Jim arrives, telling Joe that if he helps Big Jim find the egg, he will forgive him, Norrie, and Angie for "impeding a lawful investigation". Norrie laughs at the phrase, and provokes him into entering her cell. She slashes at him with her knife but only grazes his arm. He disarms her and leaves, warning that he gave them a chance. Norrie and Joe are taken away by Big Jim's men. Joe and Norrie are released to Carolyn, and Big Jim orders Linda to have them followed. Linda follows Joe, Norrie, and Carolyn to Ben's house, where they find him waiting outside to escape the noise. He brings them in to show them. Ben uncovers the mini-dome, where they see the egg glowing orange. Linda enters Ben's room as the cocoon begins to hatch. "Curtains" In Ben Drake's room, Ben, Joe McAlister, Carolyn Hill, Norrie Calvert-Hill, and Linda Esquivel watch as a monarch butterfly hatches from the cocoon. Linda becomes hostile, demanding answers from the group. They explain that they believe the egg to be the cause of the Dome, that Joe and Norrie can communicate with it, and that it relayed the message "the Monarch will be crowned". Linda orders the group to back away from the mini-dome, claiming it as police property. As the butterfly flutters inside the mini-dome, the places its wings touch turn black. The group in Ben's room notice the spots created by the butterfly, seeing that they are slowly beginning to spread. The butterfly falls to the floor, and Ben notices that it is getting dark outside, as similar-looking blotches appear on the Dome. In Ben's room, the mini-dome becomes completely black as well. Joe theorizes that they need to get the butterfly out before it dies. The mini-dome emits the high-pitched noise once more, and Joe and Norrie attempt to touch it, but are stopped by Linda, who tells them that as it is police property, she will. She does, and is thrown back and knocked unconscious. Junior arrives at Ben's house, and the group explains that they let Linda get incapacitated. They tell him that the butterfly is dying, and that they need Angie. Junior lashes out over Angie's betrayal of him by helping Barbie. Ben warns them that Big Jim is nearly there. Norrie and Joe tell Carolyn and Ben to leave so Big Jim can't implicate them. They ask Junior if he is with them, or if he will allow Big Jim to take the egg away, and he agrees to help. In Junior's truck, Norrie and Joe wonder how to find Angie. Junior tells them that she has a police radio on her, but they are unsure how to communicate with her without alerting the whole police force. Angie arrives at the cement factory where Joe, Norrie, and Junior have brought the mini-dome. In the cement tunnels, Angie, Joe, Norrie, and Junior touch the handprints as Julia and Barbie watch. The mini-dome turns bright white before suddenly disappearing completely, leaving its contents intact. In the dirt, they see the butterfly. First believing it to be dead, it suddenly wakes up and starts flying around Barbie, as Joe again suggests that Barbie is the Monarch. Angie, Joe, Norrie, and Julia flee into the forest. Angie suggests destroying the egg, thinking it might bring down the Dome, but Joe points out that it might cause another earthquake. Norrie suggests asking it. Julia hands her the egg, and Norrie asks the egg to tell them what to do. She turns to see an apparition of her mother, Alice Calvert. Norrie attempts to approach the apparition, but Julia stops her, warning her that that isn't really Alice. The apparition tells her that it has taken on a familiar appearance to "bridge the divide" to communicate with them. Norrie demands to know who it is, and Joe believes that it is whoever sent the Dome, and the vision of Alice nods. Angie asks why it is punishing them, and they are told that the Dome wasn't sent to punish them, but to protect them from a coming disaster. They are told that to get rid of the darkness, they need to earn it, by protecting the egg. Julia asks if they fail, if they will all die, and the vision of Alice nods. When Julia asks how they are to protect it, or who they are meant to protect it from, the vision disappears. Angie brings Joe, Norrie, and Julia to Sweetbriar Rose, where they discuss how they can hide the egg. They hear a message from Big Jim over the radio, calling for Julia to exchange the egg for Barbie's life. She is given an hour to make a decicion. At Sweetbriar Rose, they discuss what they should do. Julia tells them that they should do nothing: if she really is the Monarch, it needs to be her decision, and she tells them to get somewhere safe, as they have done enough. Season 2 "Heads Will Roll" Joe, Norrie, and Angie are standing near the church when the bell flies out and heads towards the dome. As the top of the church collapses, Joe pulls Angie and Norrie out of the way. The trio head to Norrie's house where they found Carolyn passed out on the floor. The dome's magnetization causes the knives to fly at them. They pulled over a table to shield themselves. One of the knives went right through Joe's hand. Barbie and Rebecca Pine arrived to help them escape safety. "Infestation" Joe and Norrie awaken at Big Jim's house. He makes them breakfast, but they still don't trust him. Later, Joe and Norrie find a mysterious young woman and bring her into town. As everyone is at the Sweetbriar, Junior comes in and tells everyone that Angie is dead. When Joe and Norrie learn that the woman was at the school when Angie was murdered, Joe and Norrie blamed her and went to the jail cell she was being her in. Joe was ready to shoot the woman, when Julia came in and stopped him. Joe, unable to say good-bye to his sister, almost missed Angie's funeral, but Barbie convinced him to go. "Force Majeure" Joe, Norrie, and the woman took cover in the school while red, acidic, rain fell from the skies. While inside, they were able to check their E-mails. Joe was upset to get an E-mail from his father asking him about him and Angie The signal vanished and they traced it to the locker Angie was at then she was murdered. Joe had been getting close with the woman and Norrie's jealousy started to show when the woman, somehow knew the combination, and opened it. As they were going through the yearbooks, they found a picture of the woman, named Melanie Cross. The yearbook was from 25 years and the woman looked EXACTLY like Melanie, meaning she never aged. "Revelation" The kids recruited Barbie to help them. He found an article from 25 years that said Melanie had mysteriously disappeared. They went to the location and when Melanie stood on the spot, she had a flashback to the night she died. "Reconciliation" Joe and Norrie encourage Melnaie to touch the dome, but nothing happens. When Melanie laments how she feels out of place, Norrie tells her she would trade her for her mom. This upsets Melanie and she runs away. Joe follows Melanie, and comforts her. Melanie kisses Joe just as Norrie arrives, and the two fight. Norrie gets a cut in her arm that bleeds, which gives Joe an idea. They head to the school's lab, where Joe and Melanie take samples of their blood to compare them. Joe realizes they need an expert to help them. Later, when the town celebrates, Joe sees Julia and Barbie together, and realizes he still wants to be Norrie. In private, Joe tries to apologize to Norrie, but she is still mad at him. "In the Dark" Norrie and Joe get into a fight and Joe goes back to his home. Joe tearfully stares at a wall of photos of him and Angie. He then knocks them down I a fit of rage as Junior, Norrie, and Melanie. The four of them decide to get the egg from the lake, and realize they need the four hands to raise it, but with Angie gone, there are only three. Melanie figures she can be the fourth hand, since she was one of the "original" four hands. Joe thinks they are replacing Angie, but Melanie assures him that isn't the case. When the four touch hands, the egg rises to the surface. Norrie and Joe reconcile and Norrie admits she is starting to like Melanie. Season 3 "Move On" & "But I'm Not" After escaping the dome, Joe finds he has a hard time moving on from Angie's death. Norris has left Chester's Mill and moved on with her life. Joe finds it hard to connect with who Norrie has become. He is being counseled by Christine, a crisis counsellor. Joe decides to visit Sam, who is in jail for killing Angie. Joe tells Sam he won't accept his apology until he suffers what Angie had suffered. As Joe is leaving, a riot breaks out and Sam is stabbed in the hip by a prisoner. Joe sees this and extends his hand to Sam, implying he forgives him. Sam goes to take Joe's hand and then they both wake up, emerging from pods under the cavern. Appearances Trivia *He is one of the new four hands along with Angie McAlister, Junior Rennie, and Norrie Calvert-Hill *In the novel, his name was Joseph McClatchey, and he wasn't related to Angie. Category:TV Series Characters Category:Season 1 Characters Category:Season 2 Characters Category:Season 3 Characters Category:Protagonist Category:Chester's Mill Category:Teenagers Category:Main Characters